Effects of taxol and nocodazole on insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

Taxol, a promotor of microtubule polymerization, and nocodazole, which induces microtubule depolymerization, used at concentrations known to be specific for these effects in other cell types, were each shown to inhibit glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from isolated rat islets of Langerhans. These findings suggest that the dynamic regulation of microtubule polymerization-depolymerization in pancreatic B cells may be important for insulin secretion via the microtubule-microfilamentous system.